Holding Out
by KoryandrStar
Summary: AU - In a world where women heroes are treated as less, Artemis sets out to prove everybody wrong, and avenge her mother along the way.
1. Prologue

**Holding Out**

**Plot:**There are women heroes, but the oldest members of the league won't allow them to join their ranks. Most members are upset by this, but don't say much. When Green Arrow and Batman find Artemis saving Kid Flash and Robin, they devise a plot to show the elder members what it really means to be a Hero.

**Most Ships:**Spitfire, Robin – Batgirl, Supermartian, WonderBat (That's what I call it) Canon JL couples mostly.

**Chapter 1**

**"Prologue"**

"So, Artemis, Zatanna should be here any a minute with your potions. Let's go over your stats again." Green Arrow leaned forward on his knees and looked at the girl before him. She looked so small in Dinah's clothes, hair sticking to her skull, heavy with water from the shower. She pulled her feet under her and repeated the words for the umpteenth time that hour.

"My name is Apollo. I'm Green Arrow's nephew and he's been training me for a while. When Roy quit, I was more than qualified to replace him on the team and grabbed the opportunity. My skills are agility, archery and hand-to-hand combat."

"Perfect." Arrow smiled and put a hand over the girl's. "I'm proud of you Artemis; it takes a lot to sign up for something like this." The girl's skin was cold beneath his and he felt a pang in his chest.

"They killed my mom. I need to take them down Arrow." She looked at him, eyes sad, angry and just…broken. He couldn't stand it for much longer. It was a look he had seen one to many times, the look of someone who had just lost their entire world.

"And you'll get that opportunity.." Ollie was cut off by the sound of three raps at his door. He patted the girl's hand and watched as Batman, clad in his uniform, pulled open the door and let a tiny girl pass through the archway. "Looks like your solution is here, Artemis."

The girl was at an average size for a 15 year old. Her waist was pulled in the right spot and her hips jutted out the right amount. She wore a female magician's suit, her long jacket hanging around her legs, giving her a professional look. In her arms she carried a briefcase.

"This has to be quick; Dad's expecting me back at the club." She set the briefcase on the coffee table in front of the blonde archers. Sitting down on a couch next to the table, Zatanna flipped open the latches and revealed what was inside; About 30 vials of purple liquid held in the foam casing.

Artemis leaned forward and grabbed a vial, feeling it in her hand. The liquid inside was very slick, not a drop sticking to the side of the test tube.

"Now," Zatanna started. "Each of these vials will last you for 24 hours and they will completely switch your gender. Now, here's a sample that will last about 6 hours." She handed Artemis a smaller vial.

"Can I drink it now?" The raven-haired girl nodded with a smile and Artemis rose from the couch and walked towards the bathroom, but Zatanna stopped her. "Just a warning, you're probably not gonna fit in those clothes when you shift." She smiled.

Batman had relaxed a bit and was now sitting on Oliver's couch with Zatanna as they waited for Artemis to emerge from the bathroom. Bruce was slightly nervous about the entire ordeal. He wanted to help with this; let the girl avenge her parents, but he was nervous about letting her join the team. If the elders found out about this, then he would be removed from the Justice League roster.

They were old fashioned, the old justice league members were in charge of the modern one. If anything, the chain of command was a show of respect for the older members, and even though Bruce paid for most of what transpired in the league, he wasn't in charge. Sure he had the entire system wired to bid his doing, but the power system itself couldn't be hacked.

Bruce looked up and as Ollie resurfaced from the hallway, Batman's face returned to it's cold features once again. Ollie stepped aside and held a hand out towards the hall.

"Ladies and Bat, meet my nephew, Apollo." An older teen walked forward. He was slightly shorter than Oliver, but still tall in his own right. His olive-toned skin accented nicely with the golden, swept forward locks peeking out from his green mask.

"Wow." Zatanna rose from the couch and walked around the blonde boy before her. His body was lean, but muscular as necessary for an archer. She stopped in front of him and ran her hand along his jaw. "I did a pretty good job. You look hot Arty."

"Thanks Zee." The boy laughed, his hand shooting to his mouth and his eyes widened. "Okay…that's weird."

Zatanna chuckled and gave the boy a quick hug. "Kick ass Arty." She started walking towards the door to leave."Oh, and when you finally have to pee while you're like that, text me," She called over her shoulder. The young magician winked and walked out the door.

Artemis' face bleached and then flushed. "Thank. You. Zee." She turned around and headed for her temporary room in the penthouse.


	2. Infiltrator Baywatch

**Chapter 2**

**Infiltrator / "Baywatch" / August 8th**

It was Artemis' first day with the team. Actually, it was her first time meeting them. She'd met Robin in passing. Well, not so much met as watched. Then there was Kid Flash, cute ginger, and Aqualad, very cute Atlantean. She knew them, but then there were two other heroes she'd been briefed about that she hadn't known beforehand.

'Superboy' was Superman's younger genetic clone, and there was also a 'Miss Martian', Martian Manhunter's niece, which had surprised Artemis. She hadn't expected to see another girl on the roster and when Batman explained it she became angry with the entire system. The martian girl was not part of the team officially, but she tagged along sometimes, her guise with the League being that she had nowhere else to stay, so they let her stay with the team at the cave.

This was why Artemis would do it. She'd do it for the M'ganns out there, the Wonder Women and the Black Canaries. And her mother, this was all for her.

She walked towards the main room with Green Arrow and Batman leading her. Apparently the team was 'out' at the moment and they were going to greet them and introduce her…him to them. Artemis caught her passing reflection on one of the glass panes lining the hall. It was still strange to look in the mirror and see somebody other than the girl she's been staring at for 17 years.

She liked being Apollo, save the extra appendage that came with it. Her body would take some getting used to, but her aim was still impeccable and the costume hugged her new body enough so it felt like a second skin.

"You ready Apollo?" Oliver asked as they walked into the open room.

"Feeling a bit underwhelmed, but I'm good." She lied to her new mentor. She was actually more overwhelmed than previously stated, but she couldn't show any weakness.

She didn't see the knowing smirk that Green Arrow sent Batman. The three heroes walked into the room at just about the same time as the team did. They were all clad in swimwear, Robin's skin slightly pink.

Before they could get a look at her, Batman called out, "Get dressed. Meet back here in three minutes."

The team didn't hesitate to scurry towards their quarters. Before doing so they set their beach supplies on the ground. The boys headed out and the green one, M'gann, stood there and let her uniform wash over her figure. Gone was the yellow bathing suit and, in its place, she bore a white t-shirt with a red x, blue cape and skirt.

"Hello Green Arrow, Batman."

"Hey M'gann." Green Arrow replied, unlike Batman who said nothing to the girl. She looked between the two men and glanced at Apollo. Artemis felt a sudden instinct of panic overcome her. It left an empty feeling in the pit of her stomach that she didn't like. It was silly really, it's not like the girl could tell the secret she was hiding, her mentor had put up mind blocks to prevent that from happening.

A strange look crossed the Martian's face and she turned away from the boy. Silence encased the four as they waited for the boys to return. While they waited, Red Tornado filtered into the room and stood stoic behind Batman.

Kaldur was the first to return to the room, He was now in his uniform, weapons strapped to his back. He stood next to Miss Martian and soon Robin and Superboy came walking down the hall.

"Where is Kid Flash?" Batman asked as Robin adjusted his mask.

"He doesn't get out of school for another 5 minutes." Batman nodded and addressed the team once more.

"Okay Team, we'll get started without him. I'd like to introduce your newest member, Apollo. Since Roy declined our invitation to the team, Apollo will be filling his spot." Batman and Arrow stepped aside to reveal Apollo to the team.

The butterflies in Artemis' stomach were having a full on panic attack. _What if they find out? What if they know?_She shoved the thoughts to the back of her mind and stepped forward, crossing her arms over her chest and putting a smile on her face.

"Welcome to the team Apollo." Aqualad stepped forward, extending a hand in Artemis' direction. She hesitated for a moment, but shook hands with the dark skinned Atlantean. "I am Aqualad, this is Superboy, Robin, and Miss Martian." He gestured to his right and left where the three stood, Miss Martian farther back than the boys.

"It's nice to meet all of…" Artemis' reply was cut off by the Zeta tubes announcing a new arrival.

_Recognized. Kid Flash. B03_

"Woo!" Artemis looked towards the Zeta entrance where a boy stood in swim trunks. His hands were filled with classic beach supplies, radio, parasol, beach ball, etc. All of the good stuff.

"The Wall-Man is here! Let's get this party star-!" His sentence was cut short as he tripped over the parasol and the next moment he was on the floor, supplies strewn across the entire room. The beach ball bounced towards her feet where she picked it up and stepped forward. She came to stand in front of him and placed the ball between her hip and arm.

"Wall-Man, huh?" Artemis looked down at the boy before her; Cute ginger hair and freckles, definitely Kid Flash. A smirk appeared on her face before she could stop it, clad in his swim trunks, sunglasses askew, she had to laugh. "Love the uniform," she commented sarcastically and as he rose from the floor, tossed the ball at him. "What, exactly, are your powers?"

He glared at her but she payed it no mind, walking back to Arrow. When she turned around, Kid Flash was standing between Miss Martian and Aqualad.

"Uh," he brought his hands up, gesturing to the blonde boy before him, "Who is this?"

"Ar-Apollo. Your new teammate." No one noticed her little slip up, thankfully, and she folded her arms across her chest, posing as the bigger man.

"Kid Flash." He looked over the boy once and then smirked, "Never heard of you." She cocked a brow. Was this a challenge? Artemis felt her face fall into an annoyed expression. They stared at each other, tension filling the room until Arrow finally stepped forward, resting his hand on Apollo's shoulder.

"This is my new protégé."

"What happened to the old one?" Kid Flash's face almost seemed a bit desperate as he asked this. At the moment Arrow was going to answer, the Zeta Tubes announced a visitor.

_Recognized. Speedy. B06_

"For starters, he doesn't go by Speedy anymore." Everyone turned to look at the newcomer as he materialized in the tube. He was clad in tight red and black clothes, belts and holsters strapped in various places around his lean body. Red hair shot up over a black domino mask. His face was stoic, much similar to Batman, as he spoke. "Call me Red Arrow."

Roy Harper, Oliver's adopted son. Artemis had seen pictures of him around Oliver's house; family photos, Ollie, Roy, and Dinah. Sometimes they were clad in costume, sometimes in civies. They all looked happy in them, smiles and hugs. The boy before her looked nothing like the boy in those pictures. It was like they were two different people.

As soon as the words had left Red Arrow's mouth, Oliver stepped forward, hand falling from Apollo's shoulder. "Roy, you look-." Oliver's voice was cut off as Red Arrow stepped forward.

"Replaceable?" He made his way from behind Kid Flash and Aqualad, his knife-like words sent in the emerald blonde's direction.

"It's not like that! You told me you were going solo." Oliver tried to defend Apollo. She didn't deserve the criticism that Ollie knew Roy could dish out. He'd practically raised the boy for the past years. Artemis felt bad for Oliver, it was her fault he was fighting with Roy, he-.

"So why waste time finding a sub? Can he even use that bow?" Red Arrow's words hit Artemis like a ton of bricks. In a second, she went from y to immense anger, but she swallowed it. Apollo wasn't that kind of person.

"Yes." Apollo stepped forward getting in Roy's face. Roy was a bit taller than her, so Artemis just put on her best glare. "He **can**." They glared for a moment before Kid Flash's spoke up.

"Who are you?" Apollo stepped back and out of Roy's face.

"I'm his nephew."

"He's my nephew."

Artemis and Ollie spoke at the same time.

"Another cousin?" Robin spoke from the back of the group. When she looked over, Artemis saw a smirk on the bird boy's face. His body position radiated arrogance. Panic swelled in Artemis' stomach for a short moment like a volcano.

"But he is not your replacement. We have always wanted you on the team." Aqualad walked up to Roy. The files said that Roy, Kaldur, Robin and Kid Flash were good friends. The volcano rumbled again. What if they didn't accept her on the team, then she'd be kicked off and wouldn't be able to fight the shadows. This wasn't part of the plan. "And we have no quota on archers." Kaldur smiled at his friend.

"If we did," Kid Flash started, smile evident in his voice, "you know who we'd pick." Her nerves were replaced with mild irritation. She was not going to get along with the red head, she could tell by what she was witnessing.

"Shut up, _Baywatch_." Artemis sneered. "I'm here to stay."

Roy took a glance back at Apollo and then walked off, back towards the Zeta tubes. Kaldur placed a hand on his chest, stopping him.

"You came to us for a reason."

"Right." Red Arrow stopped. "A reason named Doctor Serling Roquette." Artemis knew she found the name familiar, but she couldn't place it to any projects she remembered.

"Nanorobotics genius and claytronics expert at Royal University. Vanished, two weeks ago," Robin cut in, pulling up a holographic database on his arm. Behind Artemis, holographic images appeared in the air, almost like a real screen was there.

A blonde, mousy woman was shown on the screen. Her profile, her body, some information, it was like the files that the Shadows kept on the League. Artemis read the screen as Roy talked behind her.

"_Abducted_ two weeks ago; By the League of Shadows." Roy corrected as his arms fell to his side and he glanced back at his friends.

"Woah!," Robin and Kid Flash stepped forward. "You want us to rescue her from the Shadows?"

"Hardcore!" Kid Flash and Robin high-fived.

Roy sent an annoyed glance at the two and walked towards the screen. "I already rescued her. Only one problem." Roy pulled out a device and more holographic screens appeared in the air. They depicted a black canister with glowing red patterns. "They had already coerced her into making a weapon, Doc calls it 'The Fog', comprised of millions of microscopic robots. Nano-tech infiltrators, capable of disintegrating anything in their path; concrete, steel, flesh, bone. But its true purpose isn't mere destruction, its theft."

A simulation played on the screen. Tiny bug-like creatures flew onto a motherboard and attached themselves. "The infiltrators even store raw data from any computer system and deliver the stolen Intel to the Shadows. Providing them access to weapons, strategic defense, cutting edge science and tech..."

Artemis knew where this was going. Her father had talked about this a few times, it was always one of those maybe-one-day-projects. "Perfect for extortion, manipulation, power brooking…" she let her voice trail off a bit. She knew what she was talking about; maybe she'd impress one of them. "Sounds like the Shadows. "

From behind her she heard Kid Flash talk, arrogance leaking into his voice "Like you know anything about the Shadows."

She resisted the urge to laugh, settling on a smirk. God if he only knew. She glanced over at him, smirk on her face, eyebrows lifted, though he couldn't see it beneath her mask. He stared at her for a few seconds.

"Who are you!" he yelled.

"Roquette is working on a virus to render the Fog inert." Roy spoke again, breaking up Wally and Apollo's argument.

"But if the shadows know she can do that…" Robin begun, everyone knowing how the sentence ended.

"They'll target her," Roy finished. "Right now she's off the grid." The layout of the local towns high school appeared on the screen. Apollo noticed M'gann's eyes perking up a bit at this. "I stashed her at the local High School's computer lab."

Artemis felt Green Arrow tense a bit at this. "You left her alone?" he asked his former protégé.

"She's safe enough for now." Roy replied, his voice rather hostile.

"Then let's you and I, keep her that way." Green Arrow stepped forward, almost pleading with the boy. Artemis knew the older man missed Roy a lot, and the pity she had felt before seeped into her heart as she watched the exchange.

"'You and I'? Don't you wanna take your new protégé?" Roy spit at the man. Again, Artemis' pity quickly turned into anger. How could you turn against the person who's kept you safe and alive just like that? Artemis couldn't even imagine saying these kinds of things to her mother, let alone using the same tone as Roy.

Green Arrow made a move towards the boy, ready to talk, but Batman's hand on his shoulder stopped him. Arrow sighed, body visibly slumping a bit. "You brought this to the team, it's their mission, which means it's his now too." The oldest archer said, almost regretfully. Artemis felt bad for putting the man through this.

"Psh. Then my job's done." Red Arrow turned off his hologram and walked back towards the Zeta tubes, shouldering his way out

Recognized. Speedy –

"That's 'Red Arrow, B06', update." With those words, the Zeta tubes materialized the former Speedy out of the cave. Artemis felt eyes on her and looked over to see an angry glare from Kid Flash. _This__is your fault,_his eyes said. She looked away, shame appearing on her face. She hadn't meant to drive the older boy away, but when he hadn't even wanted join the team in the first place, how was she replacing him.

Silence filled the cave while everybody pondered what just happened. It stayed that way until Miss Martian spoke up. "I go to school there during the day, I could help you guys navigate. And since these guys hack electronics, I can set up a psychic link." Her voice was sheepish, tentative in her offer. The boys just looked at each other like they were stupid. M'gann looked at Apollo and the boy had a kind smile on his face, causing her to have one in return.

When nobody answered the poor girl, Apollo spoke up. "That's a great idea Miss Martian –"

"Please, you can call me M'gann."

Apollo nodded with a smile and turned towards Batman. "What's the plan Bats?"


	3. Infiltrator Fog

**Chapter 3**

**Infiltrator / "Fog" / August 8**

_"Is everyone online?"_

Artemis' hand shot to her head, unaccustomed to voices speaking inside her head. She was beginning to get a migraine and they'd barely been connected for five minutes. She hopped up on the desk opposite Doctor Roquette, moving her hand in front of her face, observing her new body. _"This is weird!"_

_"…and distracting. Coding a distributed algorithm virus on a kiddie computer with less ram than a wrist watch is hard enough! Now I have to hear teens think in my skull?"_

Artemis watched a she pounded on the computer keys, frustrations pouring off her in waves. She stopped trying all together at one point, putting her hands to her face and taking a breather. She was obviously really stressed, her posture said that much. She didn't necessarily need to be taking it out on all of them.

_"Lady,"_she heard odd crunching noises coming from Kid Flash's end of the mental link._"Do you always complain when somebody tries to help you?"_

Artemis snorted a bit but since he couldn't see her she, made sure to put more sass in her tone, just to irritate him. _"Pot, kettle, have you met?"_She shrugged, as if he could actually see her right now.

_"Hey Hey! I do not need attitude from the newbie who drove Red Arrow off the team."_He replied back to her.

Artemis hopped off of the desk, frustrated at the stupid ginger. _"That is so not on me!"_

_"Fate. Of the world. At stake!"_Roquette cut in with annoyance.

_"He started it!"_Wally crossed his arms over his chest defensively. He couldn't stand the new guy.

_"How about I just help Superboy patrol the perimeter?"_Artemis walked away from Roquette, passing Kaldur on her way out of the room.

_"Good Idea."_The atlantian's frustration made her cringe a bit.

Kid Flash and Robin were taking watch over the West Wing. They were in the room by themselves, but close enough to M'gann to be part of the psychic link. Wally, frustrated, took a big bite of his protein bar. When his friend's voice reached his ears, or more accurately his mind, he looked over.

_"You could cut him some slack you know? It was his arrow that saved your hide the other day."_Robin's light voice rang through Wally's head. No way. That arrow was totally not from that blonde dumbass.

_"What? No, that was Speedy's, I mean, Red Arrow's arrow... Right?"_

_"Hmm, not so much."_Robin shrugged at his friend, smirking when he squirmed.

_"Well…"_Wally thought, _"I'm still not giving him the satisfaction."_The speedster sulked.

_"You know, I can still hear you!"_Apollo's taunting voice spoke in Wally's head. "Argh!" Wally's hands pushed onto either side of his head, as if they could somehow force the arhcer's voice from his mind.

In the computer lab, Doctor Roquette pinched the bridge of her nose. _"I couldn't get the Justice League…"_She slumped in her chair and poured over the computer once again. That is until Aqualad walked up behind her, speaking through the mental bond.

_"The virus won't be much use if we can not find the weapon. Can you track it?"_His voice was calm, even through thought. The Doctor turned around. The computer cast a blue-ish glow on her face and arms, giving the doctor a ghostly look. Her eyes were illuminated, irritation heavily immanent.

_"My utility fog is not a weapon, its science. Brilliant science. And of course I can track it, but I'd have to go online."_She turned back to the computer continuing with the code she was working on. _"Might as well wear a sign that says 'Assassinate me!' written in neon."_The doctor said, exaggerating slightly.

Aqualad could sense her irritation. Anybody through the bond could, but he knew enough about human body language to tell it was masking something else. Fear. He remembered how Wally would mask his fear with sarcasm and so would Robin. He felt bad for the doctor.

He reached forward, placing a hand on her shoulder. Even through her clothes she could feel how chilly his skin was. The chill was somewhat comforting at the moment.

_"We will protect you."_She turned towards him, looking the boy in the eye. It was hard to think that she was being protected by children half her age. It made her feel bad in a way, that the world was such a bad place that children were becoming soldiers in a war they didn't even start. His eyes said something that made her trust him, she knew he would keep his word.

Calmer, she sighed and turned back to the computer, activating the tracer. _"Tracking fog now."_

–

Artemis stood near the fence opening for a moment before continuing her rounds around the school, checking all of the entrances for intruders. Miss Martian sat on top of her spaceship (or bio-ship which is what she called it) so she had a good vantage point of the entire perimeter but Artemis and Superboy walked the rounds, checking still.

Her eyes were out towards the horizon, checking for smoke, a car, some sounds, anything signaling a new arrival. She saw nothing. Spacing out for a moment, she yelped in surprise when Superboy landed in front of her with a loud thud.

She stared wide-eyed at the boy as he walked away from her. A second later he turned to face Apollo. Artemis swallowed her momentary surprise and nodded at the kryptonian clone. He nodded back and as he walked away she got a nice look at his backside. She stared, only for a few seconds, and then walked in the opposite direction.

Up on the bio-ship M'gann watched the interaction with an unknown emotion. Did the new boy have feelings for Superboy? And what was this new feeling she had? Was it jealousy? She had seen a lot of that on television, and she'd felt it a lot on Mars. No, this wasn't jealousy exactly…

_"Miss Martian. Doctor Roquette has tracked the fog. Reconfigure the bio-ship for Superboy and Robin to track it."_

M'gann hopped off of the ship, levitating to the gate entrance Apollo was standing at just a moment ago. She landed intentionally with some noise, catching the attention of the two boys walking in opposite directions from her. She summoned the bio-ship down onto the ground just outside the entrance to the school.

Robin landed on the concrete next to her and when Superboy ran up the two took off towards the ship.

Kid Flash stood outside the computer lab, keeping watch over the entrance. They now knew the shadows would be coming for them, so he was very alert, eyes taking in every shift in the wind, every dust bunny rolling around. As his eyes scanned for these things he caught a shadow along the floor, then it disappeared, as if its owner was moving.

He followed the moving shadow down a couple halls, and it finally went into a room. The pool. This had to be a trap. He knew it was, but he still walked in, hoping to spring it with little consequence. He took a starting step and sped all the way into the room. 5 steps in, he knew this would end badly. Hundreds of tiny metallic balls littered the floor and before he could make sense of anything he was on his back, his breath leaving his body.

He gasped, trying to get air back into his lungs, but none came. A foot appeared in his vision and he was unconscious in seconds.

Outside Artemis looked over at M'gann as she gasped.

_"What is it?"_Artemis asked through the link. Miss Martian was still dazed, but her head snapped up and her eyes were wide.

_"Wal…Kid Flash is out."_

_"M'gann, Apollo. We are under attack in the computer lab."_Kaldur spoke only a moment after M'gann, the pair immediately starting towards where M'gann had traced Wally's location to be. The two looked at each other for a moment as they ran.

_"You'll be of more use to Aqualad, let me get Kid Flash."_Artemis told M'gann and turned, heading towards the pool as opposed to the lab.

_"Be safe._" M'gann's voice spoke in her head.

Artemis ran into the pool room, easily evading the marbles on the floor. At first she didn't spot him, but on her second glance around the room, she saw him. He was lying face down in the pool. Instinct kicked in and she dived into the water, surfacing next to his body. Quickly, she got him out of the pool and onto the tiled floor.

His pulse was weak and he wasn't breathing. She tilted his head to the side, letting excess water fall onto the floor, then pulled it back into it's former position. With one hand she pinched his nose shut, the other tilting his head back. Pressing her lips against his, she started breathing for him.

Breath. Breath. Check for air. Compressions. Breath Breath. Check for air. Compressions.

After the second set of compressions, his pulse rose a bit. She went for another go when she was unceremoniously shoved away. Kid Flash flipped onto his hands and knees, coughing up the water. He did that for a good 10 seconds before snapping his head in her direction. A flush covered the boy's face.

Artemis and Wally stared at each other for a second, some sort of strange connection forming. It might've been awkward but Artemis couldn't tell. The connection was broken when they heard a girlish scream come from down the hall. Quickly, they both rose and ran out into the hall. The lab was a few hallways away, and , Wally being impatient, grabbed Apollo's arm, throwing the boy on his back and speeding to the lab.

When they got in there, Apollo removed himself from Wally's grip and jumped to the floor, arrow knocked in his bow, ready to fire. Kaldur was on the floor, unconscious presumably, and M'gann was standing protectively in front of Doctor Roquette. There was a girl standing in the middle of the room, clad in a green kimono, a Cheshire-cat mask, and suffering from a bad case of bed-head.

"Don't. Move." Apollo pulled the nock of the arrow back to her lip, ready to fire. The mystery girl tilted her head to the side, staring at the male archer. He looked…familiar.

"This is interesting…" the girl glanced around. On one side, Kid Flash was perched to run and on the other, Apollo was ready to fire an arrow. "Maybe a little too interesting." She quickly pulled a capsule from her belt, throwing it at the floor. She was consumed in a thick black smoke that spread around the room.

Artemis released her strong grip on the arrow before she was slammed into the wall behind her by Kid Flash. Artemis felt the wind getting knocked out of her as his body smashed her taller one into the wall, leaving a considerable dent. He pulled away, rising off of her.

"Gone!" Kid Flash said angrily as he turned. The girl was nowhere to be seen. Kaldur was up now, helping the doctor to her feet as Miss Martian started towards Apollo to help him out of the human-shaped dent in the wall.

"She's getting away! You're letting her get away!" The doctor yelled as she pulled dart-like objects from Kaldur's arm.

Artemis grasped Miss Martian's hand in her own, letting the girl pull her out.

"This is all your fault!" She looked up to see Kid Flash yelling at her once again. "You were on perimeter. How'd that Shadow get in?" He poked the taller boy in the chest, who in turn simply glared at him.

"That's not really fair." Miss Martian stepped between the two, looking Kid Flash in the eye. "I was outside too."

"Outside…being distracted by him!" Kid Flash put his hands on his hips and then sent M'gann a soft smile. "Besides, I can't be mad at you."

Artemis saw M'gann flash an awkward smile and rolled her eyes. She walked past Kid Flash, shoving him away. "Keep it in your pants, Baywatch." He stared at the boy, wide-eyed, and then looked away with a blush.

"Focus everyone. The Shadows can not be gone for very long."

"Robin to Aqualad." Everybody was slightly surprised to hear the boy's voice through their com links. "We're over Philadelphia. We've located the shadows next target, Star Labs…we're too late. It's destroyed, totally destroyed. The fog decimated it. This is bad. Star Labs is cutting edge science and now their secrets are in the hands of the enemy." Silence encased the group for a minute before the boy spoke again. "What's our next move?"

"Rescan for that fog. We'll find it." Kaldur turned and gave Roquette a look. She nodded and sat back down at her computer. "We're moving the Doctor."

Now at a church on the pier, Roquette sat at her computer, typing away. Kid Flash sat perched on the desk while Apollo paced the room. Whenever Artemis looked at the two she only saw Kid Flash's glare. She finally stopped pacing and returned the look.

_"Stop it. Both of you."_

_"What?"_They both asked Kaldur through the mental link. _"I can hear you glaring."_

The two continued keep their eyes to themselves. It was but a minute later when a guy in purple spandex flipped into the room. Kid Flash hurled himself off of the desk and at the man, going for a leg sweep. The purple man flipped up to the ceiling, spraying what looked like red spider-webs at Kid Flash.

He dodged them and threw a trash can at the man. Artemis pulled her bow back, knocking it, ready to fire as soon as she got a good opening at the purple-spandex-wearing-man. She never did get the change though, as a man with a hook for a hand dropped through the ceiling behind her. Quickly she fired the already ready arrow at him, but he dove out of the way, behind a pews. She kept firing arrows at him, hoping to lure him out or at least hit him.

"Don't stop working." She told the doctor. Roquette turned back to her computer, typing furiously. Up above all of them, the green kimono girl perched in the open window, crossbow readied in her hand. She aimed at the doctor, but was blocked as a cabinet levitated up between the her and her target.

"Martian's here!" she shouted to the other two Shadows."It's now or never!" Webbing pulled the cabinet away from the doctor and the girl jumped down, landing in front of Roquette. Artemis twisted and aimed her bow at the girl but was knocked down by something colliding with the side of her head.

The girl pinned Roquette to the floor and pulled a sai up above her head, ready to strike. As she was about to plunge the sai into her, the blonde's head twisted around and her skin morphed from caucasian to green. The girl pulled back with a gasp.

"We've been tricked!"

In a cybercafe further down the pier, Aqualad kept watch over the real Roquette as she went at coding the fog.

"You'll never find Doctor Roquette." Miss Martian spoke to the Shadows as she dodged a piece of furniture hurled her way.

"Never is such a long time." The female Shadow in green took a few steps backwards, then twisted on her heel and ran towards the exit. "Pursuing target, keep 'em busy!" She commanded the other two of her team.

As the girl ran past Artemis, she rose, sprinting after her. "Pursuing the leader, take the rest down."

"You are so not the boss here dude!" she heard Kid Flash whine behind her.

"Just do it!"

As she ran from the building she saw the girl pause in the street and just... stare. She took this opportunity to knock an arrow and fire it in her direction. The girl moved before it hit her and it landed in a tree. Artemis started chasing her and watched as the assassin ran in a straight line down the street. She fired another arrow at her.

Right as it was to hit she knocked it out of the way with her sai. "I was hoping it'd be you," The girl said, her tone mocking. She ran farther down the street, leaping onto rooftops to try and shake Apollo, but he was just as fast and agile as she was.

The girl jumped onto another rooftop and rolled as she landed, Artemis getting a perfect opportunity. She took a special arrow from her quiver and fired it at the chimney of the house. As the girl rose from her roll, she was welcomed with thick, purple gas. She coughed and swayed for a moment, then fell, knocked out.

Artemis tentatively walked towards her. Something felt wrong. That feeling proved to be right. Before she knew it her legs were swept out from under her.

"Mask has built in filters," The girl said as she stood over Artemis. She kicked up at the assassin but her leg was grabbed tightly mid-kick. "Better luck next time kid." The assassin lifted her leg and delivered a kick to Apollo's face.

Aqualad heard a thud on the roof and knew that one of the Shadows had arrived.

"We have company!" he shouted at Roquette, drawing his water bearers from his back.

"Uploading now!" She pushed a few final keys and then stood, walking to Kaldur. "Besides, you said you'd protect me."

He smirked at her, but the smirk fell when they saw a metallic pellet roll into the room, releasing thick gas. They waited for something to emerge from the smoke, but nothing did. Swiftly, Kaldur turned, but he was too late. Three poisonous darts implanted themselves into his chest.

He stumbled back, his chest filling up with poison and pain.

"Let's test the limits of your jellyfish immunity, shall we?"

Kaldur shook his head, his vision blurry. He charged forward though, his swords sloppily slicing through the air towards the girl. She dodged easily and kicked him in the side, causing him to fall to the floor. His tattoo's went back to their normal state and as his unconscious mind couldn't hold the water in sword form any longer, it formed a puddle on the floor with a splash.

"There," The kimono girl said. "Limit tested." She smiled down at the atlantean for a moment before turning towards the doctor, pulling a sai from her belt. "Now doctor. Time for my appointment."

Roquette, struck with fear, took a few steps backwards, giving her a clear view of the computer screen. The progress bar was just passing 50%. She looked back to the girl, who was now right in front of her. She reached out, grabbing Roquette by the shirt and pressing the tip of the sai to her neck.

Swallowing a bit of fear, she glanced over at the screen as it beeped. The progress bar had hit 100%. The assassin looked as well. "So you finished the virus? Eliminating the reason for your…elimination." She pressed the sai harder against her neck and dragged it a bit, causing a thin line of blood to appear."Though not the entertainment value…" She looked into the doctor's eyes for a few seconds, loving the fear she saw there.

Roughly, she shoved Roquette to the floor. "Lucky for you, my orders are clear. You live to program another day. After all Doctor, the Shadows may find another use for you."

She grinned down at the the blonde and left through the front door. Casually, she walked back to the church to collect her team. Three steps out the door and she was blocked by arrows landing in the ground in front of her. Seconds passed and then the arrows set off a small explosion. Enough to injure, not to kill.

The girl's mask was blown off, skittering down the street. She glanced at it and then moved to rise from the ground when a male voice spoke up from behind her. "Don't. Move. A muscle." She rose up to her feet nonetheless.

"Wow," she spoke to Apollo. "I am completely at your mercy."

An involuntary gasp came from Artemis' lips as the now-maskless girl turned around. "You" she breathed. Jade Nyugen. Her sister. Her sister was the shadow. It shouldn't have been that surprising really, but still Artemis felt a pang of sadness. She was aiming an arrow at her own sister.

"I suppose now you bring me to justice. Let your little friends interrogate me…I wonder if your position is secure enough to survive them learning _everything_ I know…" Jade grinned.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Artemis replied. She wasn't Artemis right now, she was Apollo.

"Right." Jade walked towards Artemis, placing a hand on her bow, lowering it. "I practically trained you, I made you, and you don't think I'd recognize your moves, your aim, your eyes. We're sisters…_Arty_."

Artemis stared at the girl and lowered her bow towards the ground. Jade smirked and stepped backwards. "That's what I thought. So like the Cheshire cat…" She seemingly evaporated into a cloud of gray smoke. "I'll just disappear."

Artemis couldn't remove her eyes from the mask lying a few feet away. She spotted Roquette helping a stumbling Kaldur from the café. "Apollo, where's the assasin?" He asked almost desperately as they arrived at her side.

"She uhm…She got away." Artemis returned the arrow to her quiver as Kid Flash ran up besides her.

"Oh from you? Big surprise! Notice," he gestured to where M'gann had two shadows tied up, levitating next to her. "We got ours."

"Whatever." Artemis mumbled and collapsed her bow, also placing it in her quiver. She could practically feel Kid Flash rolling his eyes.

A moment later he was picking up the very mask she had been staring at.

"Don't touch that!" She involuntarily shouted, somewhat slapping the mask from his hand.

"Why not?" He asked, anger ever present in his voice. When he asked, Artemis honestly couldn't find a good reason for him not taking it, other than the fact that it belonged to Jade. Which was hardly a reason for anyone but her.

"Uhm…It could be poisoned, or something…" Artemis trailed off as he bent down to collect it again.

"Her mask…" Kaldur was observing the object. "Did you see her face?" he asked Apollo.

"No it…It was dark." She turned away from them. After a moment she felt a hand on her shoulder and by the lack of natural body heat she figured it was Aqualad's.

"It is fine. Robin and Superboy neutralized the fog and Doctor Roquette is safe, thanks in no small part to you." She looked into his face, her lips quirking slightly upwards, turning back to the group. "Welcome to the team"

M'gann floated down to her and embraced the archer. "I've always wanted a brother... on Earth, I mean. I've got about twenty back on Mars, but you know how siblings are."

Apollo pulled away with a slight smile. "I…wouldn't know."

When M'gann pulled away she elbowed Kid Flash in the stomach. "Ow! Yeah…welcome." He grumbled.

Artemis mentally sighed. It would take a long time before they'd be friends, if they ever even got to that point. She extended her hand and he looked at it for a moment and returned the handshake.


	4. Infiltrator Red Arrow

**Chapter 4**

**Infiltrator / Red Arrow / August 9th**

After taking the zeta-tubes to the run-down phone booth and walking the short distance towards Oliver Queen's penthouse, she could finally relax. With a sigh she threw her bag onto the couch. Oliver had headed back to Star City with Dinah, so they left her to stay in the penthouse, giving her a a small sense of privacy. Also, Gotham made her feel closer to her mother.

She was about to discard of her bow when her senses picked up something from further down the hallway. As quickly as she could she drew an arrow and pulled it back, aiming at whoever was standing there.

"Step into the light. Now." She commanded.

"Hmph. Nice move." Roy Harper, clad in his civies stepped forward with a box in his hands.. Artemis lowered the bow before putting it away into her quiver. She it onto the couch next to her bag. "You almost made me believe you really are Green Arrow's nephew."

Roy stepped closer, getting slightly too close. "But we both know that's not true." He let his voice fill with anger. Artemis narrowed her eyes at the boy.

"Still, I'm sure GA and Bats have a reason for lying, so your cover's safe. But I warn you," he leaned closer, less than an inch or two away from the blonde's face. "Do not. Hurt. My friends."

Artemis watched as Roy quickly left the penthouse. When the door slammed closed behind him she sighed. This wasn't right. She was taking over the poor guy's life; his home, his friends, his mentor. She felt horrible.

This wasn't her place; she didn't belong in Green Arrows apartment. She didn't belong on that team. She didn't belong anywhere now.


	5. Denial Training

**Chapter 5**

**Denial / Training / August 10th**

Artemis walked into the alley and set the two boxes on the ground. The phone booth, which was actually a zeta tube entrance, was ready to take her to Mount Justice. According to her watch, it was 4 am and she needed to take her potion before she left. She took the vial from her pants pocket and downed the purple liquid.

It took a minute for it to kick in, but she could feel it the moment the change happened. Closing her yes against the strange feeling, she wasn't sure if it was pain or not, but it wasn't unbearable and she managed. She groaned for a minute while it changed her chromosomes and when it was done she released a sigh of relief.

Looking down at her clothes; they were tight on her body now, opposed to how baggy they had been on the walk here. Ollie had left her money for new clothes, since most of hers weren't gender optional, so she had went out and bought enough clothes to fill a whole box.

_Recognized, Apollo. B07_

She walked into the main room of Mount Justice and immediately heard the sound of guys grunting That definitely didn't seem right. She stepped farther into the room and saw that the floor was lit up and holograms were appearing besides Robin as he made a back flip away from Kaldur. The Atlantean lunched for the boy, jabbing a fist into his side. Robin stumbled and flipped away from Kaldur. He took a deep breath then dived back into the battle.

Scoffing at the boys' training she walked over to M'gann, who was levitating cross-legged in the air, as if sitting on an invisible stool. Superboy and Kid Flash weren't anywhere to be seen so she looked at the Martian. She felt slightly uneasy around all of them still, but she hadn't exactly been privy to a tour of the place and she needed to know where her new room was.

"Um…M'gann?" Apollo said to the girl as he walked up, the couple of boxes in her hands barely letting her see Miss Martian. The girl opened her eyes and looked over.

"Oh, Apollo, let me help you!" She scrambled to land on the floor and fumbled for a box. As she reached for them, Artemis quickly pulled them away from her. M'gann withdrew her hand in surprise.

"I…I've got it, don't worry." She couldn't risk the possibility that the martian would see something that would blow her cover. They looked at each other for a long moment. M'gann still wore a surprised expression and Artemis felt all kinds of awkward.

"Well…" M'gann seemed in thought for a moment before she smiled. Artemis felt the boxes in her hands disappear. They were now levitating in front of her face. "…too bad. So why do you have these boxes, anyway?

"Um…I'm moving into the cave, partially at least. If I'm gonna be here sometimes, might as well make it feel like home…" Artemis' voice drifted off, not sure what else to tell the girl.

"Oh yay! Conner and I live here at the cave and everybody else is here a lot too so you'll love it!" M'gann reached out and grabbed Artemis' hand, tugging her towards the kitchen. "The bedrooms are just down the hall from the kitchen and living room. There are still a bunch of rooms to choose from, but the closest one is between Wally and I."

"Wally has a bedroom next to you?" Artemis asked with a slight laugh in her voice. They entered a small hallway; she could see the kitchen at the end.

"Yea…he's harmless though, really!" M'gann laughed as they entered the kitchen. Wally was hunched over the refrigerator, reaching for something. Before she could stop herself, Artemis caught herself watching the view. Not a second later he snapped back up, a cluster of grapes hanging from his mouth.

He mumbled something that sounded like "Meggawiwis" and grinned. Then he looked over at Artemis and his face fell. They shared a look before Wally puffed his chest out and set his food on the counter. "Great. Back for round two blondie?"

"Oh hush Wally, I'm just showing Apollo to his room. I think I'll put him right between the two of us." M'gann smiled and began to drag Artemis away from the kitchen and towards the bedroom halls. Artemis caught the devastated look on Wally's face. She gave him a smirk as she passed.

"Okay, so here's the room. You have a bed, desk, some shelves and a closet over there." M'gann let go of her hand when they made it to the room. The boxes floated over to the bed and set themselves down.

"Thanks M'gann." Artemis flashed the girl a smile and she left the room, the door sliding closed behind her.

Artemis spent the next hour decorating her room, she put up her pictures and her new clothes found a place inside the closet. Some of her purchases were kept back at the penthouse but most of them were here; it was where she'd be spending most of her time anyway.

When she was done she went back to the kitchen. Wally was still there, sitting at a bar stool, sandwich in his hand and food all over the counter. Conner was sitting on the couch with M'gann and it looked like she was explaining something to him. Wally looked over at her as she walked in, his face was calm but when he saw her it turned into a scowl.

"Ouch." She muttered, walking over to the refrigerator.

"What was that, newbie?" Wally asked angrily, putting his hands on the counter and leaning forward.

"I said," Artemis turned around, water bottle in hand, "Ouch."

"Fine." Artemis looked towards the door. "Whatever," he huffed and turned back towards the TV, some sport channel currently on. She walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, water in hand. M'gann had a book lying in her lap, her hand over Superboy's as she traced a pattern on the back of his hand. Most likely she was explaining how something worked to the boy, because while the genomes had been good, they hadn't gotten everything crammed into his brain.

"Alright." Artemis looked towards the door where Robin and Aqualad stood. "KF, Apollo. Batman wants you to spar next."

"Kid Flash, Apollo. No dirty tricks, hand to hand combat only, no arrows. Got it?" Batman's voice was resolute; there was no getting around his rules. Artemis briefly wondered how Robin got away with anything back at Gotham. Then she wondered if he had a mother who took care of the both of them when they returned home. Bitterness rose in her throat, but she swallowed it.

"Roger that, Bats." Wally smirked, pulling his goggles down over his eyes.

"Yes sir." Artemis rolled her neck, savoring how it popped into a more comfortable position. She pulled her gloves on, popping her fingers as she did so. She was going to enjoy this.

"Begin."

Artemis planted her feet, centering her body. She felt relaxed, but ready to jump at the same time. They circled around each other, hands in front of their bodies, ready to attack or defend.

Wally broke the circling, lunging for Artemis. She sidestepped him, grabbing onto his wrist as he passed and as she pulled him back to her, she brought her knee up into his stomach. He grunted, then stumbled away when she let go of his hand.

"Not cool," He mumbled, clutching his stomach.

"Does this mean I win?"

"No!" Wally shouted, straightening up. He ran towards her again, fist at the ready. When he got to her though, his hand dropped and instead he used his momentum to sweep her off her feet. She only had a moment to collect herself before she saw his fist flying towards her face. She grabbed it at the last second, kicking his body over hers and using the force to pull herself up and over him.

"What's wrong Wally, can't beat a newbie like me?" Artemis taunted, giving him a moment to get up.

"Yes. I. Can." He said, stretching his arms out behind his back. The others had filtered into the room, Conner and M'gann standing by the wall with Kaldur. Robin was standing closer, grinning.

Wally charged again and he tried the leg sweep again but she leaped up. She kicked at his face but he ducked and punched her stomach. The hit landed. "You're not that good. And we don't need you."

Anger filled her entire being. She reached out and grabbed his shoulders in a vice-like grip, using him to catapult herself over him. Instead of letting go, her hands slid down, now gripping his forearms. She pulled him over her head, slamming him face-first into the ground. She put a knee to his back and twisted his left arm back, holding it in a way she knew would be painful for him . She bent down, her mouth at his ear and spoke quietly. "That's not what you said yesterday when I saved your ass."


	6. Denial

**A/N: please forgive the grammar mistakes that are bound to be in this chapter, my wonderful beta hasn't gotten back to me yet, but when she does I'll switch this chapter out for the edited one. Enjoy. **

* * *

**Denial / August 19th**

Artemis sat on the outside of the ring with M'gann and Wally while Conner and Kaldur sparred. The sounds of punches and grunts were heard as Artemis talked with M'gann. It wasn't exactly stimulating conversation, but instead comfortable small talk.

It was rather warm out and all of this extra weight from the potion wasn't really helping the sittuation. The new body was…strange to say the least. There were simple things that she had the hardest time doing; sitting down, jumping, it was even hard just balancing. She supposed they were just side effects of being taller than she was, but they threw her off none the less.

"So Apollo, do you have any family?" M'gann asked. Artemis thought for a moment. She…didn't know how to answer it.

"I…don't. Not really." Artemis shifted awkwardly, waiting for M'gann to move on to another question or story. She looked over at the green girl and was surpsied by the look of sadness on her face.

"That's…so sad." M'gann toyed with her hands in her lap for a moment, then looked up to the boy. "Let's change that, you are now my Earth brother, and I will be your sister." M'gann gripped Apollo's hand in her own and smiled.

Artemis was torn between ripping her hand away and indulging the girl. M'gann was like her though, alone, so she chose the latter. "Okay, sis." Artemis awkwardly flashed a smile, hoping it was charming. M'gann laughed, so it must have worked.

Artemis felt strange, so she turned towards Wally. For a second, she thought she saw jealousy in his eyes.

"Team." Batman's said gruffly. He walked into the room, Zatarra and Red Tornado in pace behind him. "You have a mission." He walked onto the sparring platform and it lit up beneath his feet, holographic screens appearing beside him displaying a picture of an old man.

"Yes!" Wally said through the apple half way in his mouth, earning a glare from the dark knight.

"Your target, Kent Nelson." He pressed the screen and zoomed in on the old man's face, information scroling along the side of the page.

"But he's just an old man." Superbody gunted.

"You're not taking him out," Batman sounded exasperated, "You're going to find him. Tornado?"

"Yes." Red Tornado stepped foreward, infront of the holo-screen. "Kent Nelson is a friend. He is 106 years old and has been missing for 23 days and 6 hours."

"He doesn't look a day over 90." Wally said to whoever happened to be closest to him, which was Apollo.

"Kent was a charter member of the Justice Society, the precurser to your mentors' Justice League, at one point he was on the League's coucil."

Aqualad seemed to light up at the changed picture on the screen, "Oh course! Doctor Fate…" His voice trailed off as he looked at the man on the screen. Wonder shone in his eyes.

Wally scoffed quietly behind Kaldur. "More like Doctor Fake." He turned to Apollo, apparantly fogetting that he was angry with the boy. He took note of the sour look in Apollo's eyes. "Guy knows a little advance sciene, 'Dumbledore's it up to scare the baddies and impress the babes. "

"Kent may simply be on what he referrs to as a 'Walk About'. But he is caretaker to the helmet of fate and it is unwise to leave such a powerful object unguarded. "

"Whatever, it's just a fancy helmet." He muttered.

"He's like the great sorcerer priests and priesteses of Mars. Oh I'd be honored to help you find your friend!" M'gann twirled in the air, excitement too much to stay grounded.

"Honored!" Wally stepped foreward, "I'd be honored as well, so honored…I can barely stand it!" He reached foreward and grasped M'gann's clasped hands.

"What are the chances we both so admire the mystic arts?" M'gann smiled at Wally, but Artemis could clearly see the discomfort on her face.

They had settled into the bioship, Artemis sitting in the front this time, a change from her side seat. She liked the side seat better but Wally had practically forced her to sit in front of M'gann and himself; That little shit was playing the poor girl and she was too naïve to realize. They were a few minutes out from the location of the tower when she finally decided on what to say.

"So, Wally." She turned in her chair to face the lying ginger. "When did you discover your…what was it? Oh, 'natural afinity for the mystic arts'?" She folded her arms behind her head and reclined back.

"Well if you must know blondie," Wally sneered at Apollo then turned and grinned at M'gann. "I'm not one to brag, but before I became Kid Flash I seriously considered becoming a wizard myself."

Artemis looked to Kaldur in disbelief and both rolled their eyes at their teammate. M'gann smiled at Wally, and then turned back to the skies, serious again.

"We have reached Tornadoe's coordinates." She said, slowing the bio-ship.

"Nothing is here."

"Take us down." Kaldur commanded and M'gann obliged, landing the ship in an open park area. Artemis had been down here once, her father sent her on a 'right of passage' and her target lived here. Not this place exactly, but in this area.

M'gann gave the all clear and the team exited the ship, filling out into the open area. They honestly had no idea what to do.

"Okay um…Kid, why don't you do a ground sweep, M'gann if you wouldn't mind, would you do an arial sweep of the area?" Kaldur turned towards the green girl, she nodded vehemently and took off the ground. Wally looked up after her, his face redened a bit then he took off, Artemis stumbling a bit by the disrupted air around her. It was only a minute or two later when Wally reappeared infront of her.

"There's nothing here." He sounded a bit frustrated by the discovery. "This isn't just simple camoflauge."

"So," she started, unable to keep from "What do you think? Adaptive micro-optal electronics combined with…phase shifting?" she said, crossing her arms over her chest. For a second Wally's face lit up like the fourth of july, his smile stretching far over his face.

"Absolutely!" He started but stopped when M'gann landed next to them, shaking her head towards Kaldur. "…not!" The Martian arched a brow at him. "Clearly, mistic powers are at work here!"

Artemis' face fell into an ever familiar scowl. After they all took a moment to marvel at Wally's stupid attempts at impressing M'gann, Kaldur pulled something from his pocket. It was a little golden key. "…maybe it's a test of faith." He walked around Kon and infornt of the group. "Stand back."

He simply walked infront of the group and closed his eyes, after a second he seemed to decide what to do and pushed the golden key into the air. A metalic sound occurred and Artemis watched with wonder as a monstorous brick building appeared in the middle of the park. Her jaw fell open and her eyes widened, and while she wanted to act cool a giant castle appearing out of thin air kind of knocks the breath out of you.

A door appeared around the key Kaldur held in the air and he preceded to push it open. The team walked in and the door slammed shut beind them. Conner turned when he heart the slam. "Um…where did the door go?" he asked the group. Artemis glanced back to see, well, not see a door in sight, but turned back when another voice penetrated the air.

"Greetings," A holographic image of, who she assumed was, Kent Nelson hovered in front of Kaldur. "You have entered with a Key but the Tower does not recognise you. Please state your purpose and intent." His face was stoic as he awaited an answer. Kaldur stood for a moment, thinking of the correct response when Wally stepped forward. This wasn't going to turn out good.

"We are true believers, here to find Doctor Fate!" He said, rather sarcastically. The holographic Kent Nelson gave him a look, the same look the rest of the team gave him, before disapearing. Along with him went the floor.

Artemis looked down and suddenly the entire team was headed towards a lava pit. She let herself fall for a moment, panic settling in her bones. Then some resiidual instinct kicked in and she pulled the compact bow from her jacket, firing an arrow up. The sting became taught and she swung over, catching Kaldur by the waist as he fell.

She looked around, hoping for the best in her team. M'gann had caught Wally and he had a vice grip on her. Conner, however, hadn't been so lucky and was hanging by his finger tips, inches from the lava. Suddenly he screamed and Artemis looked down, his boots had completley singed off of his feet and…he was in pain. It was strange; he's not supposed to feel pain at fire.

"Those…were my favorite boots!" he growled, pulling himself up a fraction of an inch higher. "This Nelson guy better be worth it."

M'gann too was having a little difficulty. "Having trouble…maintaining altitude." She siad between gasps. "…I'm so hot!" her face seemed to be covered in sweat.

"You sure are." Wally said, clinging to the Martian.

"Wally!" Artemis shouted. Honestly. M'gann should just drop him now. After all, he did get them in this mess.

"Hey!" he retorted. "Inches above sizling death, I'm allowed to speak my mind!"

She rolled her eyes and tightened her grip on Kaldur.

"My physiology" he started, wiping his forehead of sweat. ", and M'gann's are suseptable to the heat, we must climb out quickly!" She gave him a worried look and then glanced back at the slowly descending couple.

"hello M'gann!" she said, breathless still. "We never truly answered the question…." She took a deep breath and shouted up the cavern. "Red Tornado sent us…to see…if Mr. Nelson…and the helment…were safe!" she managed, breathing heavily.

Then a metal covering shut closed over the lava, giving them a safe place to stand. Conner dropped from his place on the wall as M'gann and Wally started to fall. The Kryptonian reached out, catching the Martian as Wally landed on the floor with a thud. Artemis released the clutch on the arrow, descending to the bottom with Kaldur.

He crouched down, palms sprad over the metalic covering. "This platform, it should be red hot, but it is cold to the touch."

Conner looked at the girl in his arms and quickly set her down, face turning a light shade of red. She stumbled towards the floor, body still weak from the heat, only to be caught again by Wally.

"Don't worry Megalicious." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as she fought to regain her strength. "I've got you."

A rage that had been boiling in Artemis finally broke and she charged at the boy, pushing him back onto the wally by a hand to his chest. "Enough! Your little 'impress M'gann at all costs' game almost got us all barbequed!" She jabbed him in the chest.

"When did this become my fault!" he yelled up at Artemis.

"When you lied to that…whatever it was, and called yourself 'a true believer'." Her chest heaved with anger as she glared down at the boy.

"Wally?" M'gann started, and his eyes darted towards her. The hurt expression on her face stung a little. "You don't believe?"

Wally's face hardened and his hands balled into fists at his side as he broke. "Fine! Fine! I lied about beliveing in magic! But Magic is the real lie!" he huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, looking away.

"Wally," Kaldur started and they all turned towards the atlantean. "I studied for over a year at the conservatory of sorcery in Atlantis. The sorcery created the skin icons that power my water bearers." He looked at Wally, stoic as always.

"Hey, ever hear of bioelectiricty? Oh hey, in primitive cultures fire was considered magic too! Today it's all just a bunch of tricks." He huffed again, arms on his hips.

"You are pretty close minded for a boy that can break the sound barrier in his sneakers!" She said in disbelief. Honestly the audactiy of that boy.

"That is science!" He said, jesturing with his hands. "I recreated Flash's labrotory experiment and, here I am!" the sarcasm that laced his words was beginning to really piss off Artemis. "Everything can be explained by science."

Kaldur, who seemed a bit frustrated by the boy too spoke again. "Let us test that theory." He gripped a handle on the platform below them and started to pull it open.

"Wait!" Wally lunged forward a bit, only to be blocked by Artemis sticking her arm out. "The backdraft from the lava will roast us ali-!" Wally stopped as a cold swept over them, snowflakes fluttering up into the cavern.

"It's snow!" M'gann smiled brightly, reaching out to touch the flakes.

Victory.

"Do you ever get tired of being wrong?" She said to the boy, smirking. His face looked beyond pissed but at this point she coulnd't care less about how he felt. One-by-one they jumped down throught he portal, the gravity shifted and they stood up on the snowy ground.

Wally was the last one through and he glared at the portal as it shone and dissapeared behind them.

"Well?" Artmis siad, smirking.

"Ever hear of string theory? We're in a pocket demension." He said, so sure of himself. Artemis just scoffed.

"Hey guys," they turned towards M'ganna she spoke. "What's that?" she pointed towards a floating...staff it looked like. It was a simple staff, brown wood with a curved handle. Artemis walked foreward, somewhat drawn to the object. She couldn't look away actually, she was almost transfixed.

"Ooh, maybe it's Nelsons magic wand." Wally siad as he too walked toward the staff. At the moment he saw Apollo reach for the staff he sped foreward, gripping it in the same moment.

"I got it!" they both shouted and tugged "I can't let go!"

The staff gave off a sound and then began to glow in the boys' hands. Suddenly it shot through the air, dragging them up through the sky and into a portal.

The next thing Artemis knew she was lying on a wood surface, Wally next to her. A small voice sounded behind them and Artemis turned her body, looking at the source. A lithe boy stood next to a large man. The boy was deathly pale, with jet black hair styled into what appeared to be horns and a suit of the same hue gave his body a slim appearance. There seemed to be a ginger cat draped across his shoulders.

Artemis' first thought about the man was that he belonged on a romance novel. A puffy white shirt was split open down the middle of his chest, revealing a fair ammount of skin, hot pants and boots bringing the look together.

Behind them Kent Nelson lay on the floor.

Artemis gripped her crossbow tighter in her hand, sitting up on the wooden…staircase?

"Abra Cadabra!" Wally shouted next to her. Of all the villians Artemis knew she hadn't heard of this guy before. She rose from the floor into a crouch, helping Wally do the same.

"Well, look at that." Nelson said, rising up onto his elbow. The staff in the kids' hand began to glow gold as did the old man on the platform above them. He flipped off of the platform, flying towards them.

He reached out and gripped the staff in his hand. As he did a strange sensation went through Artemis, it was like, a piece of her was being severed, like she was conncected to something. In the next second the staff released her hand and Nelson took it from her. He gestured behind her towards a door that appeared out of nowhere.

"In here" Nelson stood, ushering the boys into the door, which turned out to be an elevator. They turned to watch the boy and Abra Cadabra. The boy screamed and shot a red energy at the elevator. The doors, however, closed before it could touch them.

Artemis stood, arms crossed, Wally standing next to her. Kent Nelson just stood infront of the door, both hands holding the staff infront of him. It was…awkwad, suffice to say. Wally and Artemis weren't sure what to say, if anything, and Nelson seemed perfectly at ease. After a moment he broke the silence.

"I'm Kent Nelson, by the way." The old man said, smiling back at the two boys.

"No duh." Wally said under his voice.

Artemis slammed her elbow into his ribcage, earning her a groan in return.

"I'm Apollo and 'Miss Manners' here, is Wally."

Wally pouted and scowled at Artemis, crossing his arms defensively over his chest.

"Well, _Apollo_," the way Nelson drew her name out struck a chord in Artemis. The way he looked at her… "we're up against an opponent with tremendous mistic power."

"Abra Cadabra?" Wally scoffed. "Flash proved he used a futuristic technology to simulate 'magic'. Guy is all show and no biz."

"Right you are-." Nelson started, and was cut off by Artemis

"He is?" Wally crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his chin up, triumphantly correct for once.

"Abra is a charolette. But Kalrion, the witch boy – the kid with the cat – he's an actual lord of chaos. The ultimate enemy of a lord of order like Doctor Fate." Nelson said, no joke hidden in his tone.

"Right." Wally drawled, "You're a lord of order." Disbelief written on his face.

"Oh no, not me." Nelson started, smiling at the ginger boy. "I'm just an old coat Fate used to put on until my love, Inza, convinced me there was more to life. Ah…she was a real pistol, that Inza." Nelson pulled a pocket watch from his coat and flipped it open. Artemis caught a glimpse at what was inside. There was a picture of a woman, she had an old kind of beauty to her. After giving the watch a forelorn look he snapped it shut, returning it to his pocket.

"Anywhoo, Klarion is after the helmet. If he gets his sticky little mits on it, he'll turn the planet into his own personal playground of pandemonium." The elevator sounded and the doors began to open.

Following Nelson, the boys stepped out of the elevator and began to ascend steps towards a golden bell. Nelson reached out to touch it, but stopped when they heard a thud behind them. Artemis turned and saw Coner lying on the ground. From above them, Kaldur fell through a portal, landing unceremoniously on Conner. Then, M'gann levitated herself to the floor through the portal.

"Friends of yours?" Kent asked.

Artemis walked towards the boys, gripping Kaldur by the arm and pulling him up off of the ground.

"Thank you."

"No problem." Artemis was brushing snow off of Kaldur's back when the sound of a shot sounded behind her. She grabbed the Atlantean and pushed him back towards the floor, dodging whatever it was that fired at her.

"Friends of yours?" Wally said back to the old man and pulled him out of harms way. The lazer fired towards Artemis again and she dove out of the way.

The old man hit the bell with the curve of his cane and as it echoed, it began to glow. Nelson pulled Wally along as he walked through the metal of the bell. One second he was looking at the golden glow of the bell and the next they seemed to be on the room, blue night sky backdropped agains the Helmet of Fate. It hung in mid air. Nelson reached out to grab the helmet and, presumably, put it on. However a shot of red energy went through his chest, throwing him back into Wally's arms.

Nelson didn't hesitate though, he gripped the staff and muttered some incantation, slamming the end of it into the ground and putting a forefield around them and the helmet. Klarion's red energy bounced off the golden orb around them and, though Wally couldn't hear, he saw the boy scream in rage.

Nelson dropped the cane, falling back into Wally once more. He held the older man up by the arms. Nelson looked up into Wally's eyes.

"Not bad for a former…'Doctor Fake', eh kid?" He gave him a weak smile as Wally lowered them to the ground. Nelson closed his eyes, focusing on trying to breahte. A moment later he gripped Wally by the scruff of his shirt, looking straight into his eyes again.

"That will give you just enough time to do what you need to do." He said.

"I have no idea what I need to do!" He shouted. He was scared. God he hated this part.

"Have faith…" Nelson sarted then took a deep breath. He pulled the pocket watch out again, flipping it open to the picture of his wife. "In what you can't explain." He looked Wally dead in the eye. "Believe in what you can no longer…deny."

With one last look at the picture of his wife Nelson's chest stop struggling for air, and his hand fell limp to his side, pocket watch clinking to the ground. Now Wally was struggling for breath. He coulnd't believe what had just happened. In one short minute the snarky old man had died. Oh god.

Wally lay him gently on the stone beneath him and pushed back, hands covering his face trying to regain steady breathing. Then it hit him. He could save him. There was no open wound, he hadn't lost any blood, his heart just stopped. CPR. He could get it going again.

He tried desperately to remember the lessons uncle Barry had taught him on CPR, tried to remember the class he was forced to take.

Scrambling back over to the man he checked for a pulse and found none. Readying his hands he started to administer the compressions. While Wally performed the 15 Klarion kept a steady stream of energy blasts coming at the forefield. Nelson said he only had a few minutes. After another round of compressions and resperations, Wally looked towards the helmet. Something was calling to him, something…something he couldn't really explain.

He looked down at the man below him, contemplating what to do when M'gann's voice went through his mind.

"_Sorry Wally, but we're in trouble. Tell Kent we need Doctor Fate!" _

Through the link M'gann showed him what was going on downstairs. The boys were all trapped in painfull electro-nets. Wally remembers when Cadabra pulled that on him. Suddenly the connection was severed as pain and M'ganns scream filled his brain.

The staff was burning shorter and shorter. Wally didn't think the shield could hold for much longer. Solemly he reached over, grabbing the locket Kent held and placed it on his chest, clasping the man's hands over the locket.

"A test of faith." He remembered Kaldur's words from earlier.

Determined he reached out and grabbed the helmet. The metal was cold beneath his fingers and some kind of aura seemed to attach to his.

"Hey dumb kid!" Kalrion shouted and Wally heard it. The shield was getting weaker. "You put that on and you may never get it off!"

With two steady streams of crimson energy Klarion ripped the shield apart, fiber by fiber and Wally's decision was made. He held the helmet out and pulled it down over his head. Klarion's energy consumed him and Wally wasn't sure it it was a cold burn he felt or just a cold emptyness.

When he opened his eyes there was a vastness around him, a vast darkness that seemingly had no end.

"Okay. Okay. No Problem, I'm not here, I'm just delusional." He stammered out, trying to calm himself down.

"Still don't believe?" Wally turned to see Nelson walk up behind him, into the light. "Seriously kid, how'd you get so bull headed in 15 short years?"

Wally stumbled back. "But you're…you're…" he couldn't find the words to complete his thought.

"Yep. But don't feel bad." Nelson said. "As soon as this little 'broohaha' is over, my spirit will ascend and I'll be reunited with my love, Inza." The man smiled fondly, looking up towards the darkness.

"Uh…oh…okay?" Wally said, Nelson spoke faster than his mind was working right now. Then it clicked. "Wait does that mean that I-?" He started, but Nelson reached out, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Awe you're alive, but your soul no longer controlls your body. You see, we're inside the helmet. You put it on, and my soul got sucked in; probably because I spent so many years serving its master."

"Master?" Wally spit out, brain asking too many questions Wally barely managed to spit that one out.

"Nabu." Nelson smiled. "The real Doctor Fate, one of them 'Lords of Order' I told you about. He's the guy controlling your body now." Nelson patted Wallys head twice then went back to resting on the curve of his cane.

"Watch." With the other hand Nelson gestured out into the darkness and Wally turned to see why. Suddenly the vastness turned into a picture. Wally watched as his extended hand materialized a sybolic shield, deflecting Kalrion's attacks.

The little boy shouted. "Give up Nabu! Order went out of style in the twentieth century!"

"This battle is pointless!" Wally was surprised to hear his voice, laced with another, say to the boy. "You sought to take the helmet before it gained a host, but you are too late!"

"Cut it you old fart!" Kalrion shouted again. Two pillars of stone shot out of the ground towards Wally in his peripheral. His body didn't move to dodge, but instead the stone surrounded him, not touching a hair on his body. His vision tinted gold and the stone exploded, flying away.

"Brat!" his voice shouted as hands extended infront of him. A golden beam shot from those hands, hitting the ground beneath Klarion. The boy was bathed in a golden light then suddenly he dissapeared.

"Yea! Take that cat boy!" Wally shouted in the helmet.

Wally's body looked around, trying to find the boy when he was propelled foreward. Pain shot up and down Wally's back as he collapsed to his knees.

"'the Hell?" He shouted, lookinng at Nelson.

"Well…it is your body." Nelson siad calmly.

"Then let me controll it. With Fate's power and my speed-."

"Sorry kid," Nelson cut him off. "Doesn't work that way, but you can see why I haven't put on the helmet in 65 years."

Wally took a minute to mull over the words he was about to say. "And if Fate…loses this fight?"

"You'll see Inza before I do." Nelson said, a little pity in his voice.

Wally's brows perked up. No way. Fate was not going to kill him, not without a fight. He turned to see through Fate's eyes again and it was consumed with red. His body twisted out of the way, glancing back at the blast and shielding himself from its return.

Another blast of pain shot trough Wally, crawling up his side and pinching every nerve unde the skin. Fate looked back to Klarion, claws holding balls of crimson energy, snarl on his face. The energy morphed into tiny spherres and Kalrion made a gun-symbol with his hand, firing energy at fate. A shield blocked Fate from the blasts, but one cracked the shield, throwing Fate back. A sting went up Wally's arm and he saw a trickle of blood run down to his wrist.

Fate flew around, dodging more energy blasts from Klarion. Finally a blast shot up from the ground and drove through his chest. Wally colapsed to the ground, a scream of pain leaving his lips. It was like Conner super slapped him in the chest twice. Fate's body fell the ground, metal clinking agains the stone.

"You're out of practice Nabu and that pathetic host's body has zero afinity for the mistic arts." Klarion snapped, summoning something from the sky. Crimson shot down from the sky like lightning and fate put a forefield around Wally's body, groaning with effort.

Klarion started to talk to his cat, and something about that struck a chord in Fate. He lashed out, expelling all of the red energy. Fate's eyes narrowed behind the mask.

"It is difficult for a lord of order, or chaos to maintain a presence on a physical plane." Golden flames danced around Fate where the shield once stood, swaying in the wind.

Klarion looked at the Lord of Order for a moment, then his face shifted, skin becoming red and eyes turning demonic. Red flames danced around the boy and his cat. The energy shifted from flames to fireballs which he fired at Fate. Fate flew around twisting around the energy blasts.

"I am bound to the helmet, and use a human host." He said lacing with Wally's voice.

"But that is not your way." He fired a golden stream at Klarion.

"You're babbling Nabu!" Kalrion shouted, red energy collecting in his hand again.

"Am I?" Fate asked, firing another blast from his chest.

Klarion morphed his energy into a red shield, but the blast passed his energy field and flew towards his cat. It hit the cat, sending the feline flying across the rooftop.

"Teekl!" Kalrion shouted, flipping around to see what happened to the cat. A moment later he turned on Fate, brows drawn into a glare.

"I can't believe you would assault a defenseless pussy cat!" the witch growled.

"We both know that creature is no cat, Witch Boy." Fate watched as the cat got to its feet, and then turned to see Klarion fading in and out of this plane. "Without your familiar, you have no anchor on this reality."

"Bully! Killjoy! Geezer!" Klarion shouted at Fate. A stream of gold energy was shot at Klarion and he scrambled to dive into his own portal, traveling over to where his familiar lay on the ground. He scooped the cat into his arms.

"We're out of here!" the two dissapeared into streams of red and black energy, dissapating into the sky."

"Yes! Woo!" Wally shouted in the helmet. "But Cadabra still has my friends."

"Don't wory. Nabu knows." Nelson smiled fondy and looked to Fate's vision.

Fate stuck a hand out, creating a golden shaped portal. A minute or two passed, but soon enough Kaldur and M'gann stepped through the portal, followed by Conner and Apollo. Kaldur looked out over the rooftop and saw Nelson's body next to Fate.

"Mr. Nelson!" M'gann rushed over to the old man's side, eyes glowing green as she checked for brainwaves. Kaldur walked over and pressed two fingers to a pressure point in his neck.

"Is he…?" Conner started.

"Yes." Kaldur said solemly, removing his jacket and laying it over the man's torso and face. He closed his eyes for a moment and held two fingers to his chest. M'gann closed her eyes, a few tears slipping down her cheeks.

"Wally?" Fate looked over at Apollo. Wally was confused for a moment, there seemed to be a little bit of a violet aura surrounding Apollo. The blonde boy walked towards Fate, looking him in the eyes.

"Why would you put on the helmet?" The boy sighed.

"Well it's not like I had much of a choice." Wally huffed for a moment, crossing his arms over his chest. When he heard Nelson chuckle he looked over and eyed the man.

"What?"

"Nothing, you two just…he reminds me of someone I used to know." Nelson smiled fondly towards the vision of Apollo looking into Fate's eyes. Wally was a bit confused by the statement, but returned to watching Apollo deal with Nabu.

"Wally…I know you're in there, and I know you can hear me."

"This body no longer belongs to Wallace West." Fate reached out and gripped Apollo's wrists. The purple aura sent a sting through the nerves along Wally's palms. Apollo pulled back, breaking the grip Fate had on him.

"Fate, you can't take his body." Apollo said, eyes almost…sad.

"Give me a good reason why." Wally heard his voice speak again and a chill crawled up his spine. Apollo's eyes narrowed.

"He doesn't belong to you!" Apollo shouted, gripping fate by the shoulders. Fate knocked his wrists away Wally fight it." He said, looking into the once vibrant emerald eyes.

"Wait, Nabu, why won't you take off the helmet?" Wally shouted to the vastness around him. A moment later the helmet appeared behind him in mid air, Fate's voice spoke to him.

"Because the Earth needs Doctor Fate, I will not release this body!"

"He can't do that!" Wally shouted, and then turned to Nelson. "Can he do that?"

"Can, but shouldn't. Nabu, you have the wrong candidate. The kid's soul belongs to the world of science, not sorcery." Nelson spoke calmly to Nabu.

"True," the golden helmet started, "but I do not appreciate being permenatly hidden away, useless, and isolated for decades at a time!" the helmet seethed. "Chaos must not be allowed to reign!"

"That won't happen again." Nelson assured Nabu. "The boy will take the helmet and make sure you're put to good use."

"Yea, I swear!"

"But in the meantime…" Nelson started, then paused. He gave Wally a forelorn glance, then gave Apollo a look before turning back to the helmet. "I'll stick around. Keep you company." He turned to Wally, smiling solemly.

"Wait, what happened to ascending, seeing Inza?" Wally felt for the man.

"So, you believe now, huh?" Nelson grinned at the boy, "Don't sweat it kid, I'll spend a few milenia here, then see Inza. That's the thing about eternity, it's eternal." He pulled the watch from his pocket, gazing at the picture of his wife.

"The bargain is…acceptable." Nabu stated, then disipated into the air.

"Some free advice before you go," Nelson put a hand on Wally's shoudler. "Find your own little spitfire, one that won't let you get away with nothin'." Nelson looked towards the sad, fading image of Apollo. "Something tells me you already…"

Wally's vast darkness faded into a blinding white light, he closed his eyes to shield them. When he opened them next, he was gazing up into Apollo's tanned face – sans the strange purple aura - it's kind of red and his eyebrows are drawn up into a concerned look. Mr. Grouch is actually a softie, who would'a known?

Then M'gann's hands are on his face, and her tears are seeping into his shirt as she hugs him, which is actually painful. Not that he's thinking about it everything is painful. He hisses in a breath when something touches his arm. Tanned hands are reaching over and tearing his over shirt, trying to get to the source of the pain. Crimson is dripping everywhere along his right forearm and somebody is trying to wrap pieces of the brown shirt but is stopped by Kaldur.

While they fuss over him, Wally looks for the helmet. While his head is lying in Apollo's lap he has a pretty good look at his surroundings. Kaldur and M'gann are kneeling on either side of him, while Conner just stands by his feet, the helmet clutched between his hip and forearm.

Nelson. Wally looks around the roof and finds him far behind Conner on the ground. It's kind of hard to see through the blur lens Wally's vision seems to have adapted, but his upper half is covered up by something.

He gazes at the man. This man saved him, he saved him from being Fate's slave for the rest of his life. Had Nelson not got sucked into the helmet, Wally would have been stuck in there. He would never get to experience his first kiss, he'd never eat food again, he'd never get to talk to his parents, or Dick. He'd truly be alone for the rest of his life, and that just doesn't suit Wally West.

He would forever be indebted to Nelson, he knew that. He owed the man his life.

Wally snaps back to reality and notices that hands are sliding under his back and legs and he's being picked up. He's being picked up like a girl. His head, no energy left in his body, falls against somebody's chest and he gazes up into a tan jaw. Apollo.

He wanted to protest, to insist he could walk, but he couldn't muster up the energy to talk. He was drained. Apollo turned to leave. Suddenly Wally thought of something and he scambled to say something. "Apollo." He forced out weakly.

"Yea Wally?" The annoying blond asked.

"We need to take Nelson back to the League, we can't leave him here." He looked up into the stormy colored eyes and was met with no resistance. Apollo nodded and spoke to Kaldur.

"We have to bring Mr. Nelson back to the cave." Apollo had some sort of conversation with Kaldur, but all was lost on Wally as he fell asleep against the hard, yet strangely comfortable, body holding him.

**August 20th / Souvenir Room**

The next night Wally is walking to the 'souviner room' as he had dubbed it. There were shelves lining two walls, one shelf held a few things; an android eye, a hood from Kobra's henchmen, Apollo's arrow, and Cheshire's mask. All royalty's of a battle won. He was proud of those memento's (a little less proud of Apollo's arrow but alas) but, somehow, this next one he couldn't' find it in himself to be proud of.

He set the golden helmet next to Chesire's mask and looked at it for a moment, contemplating what had happened in the last day. He had held a man as he died, he died right there for no logical reason. It…it didn't make sense to Wally.

He wanted to feel more, he wanted to cry, but he didn't.

Earlier in the day the league had a burial ceremony for Nelson. Everybody was there. They hadn't worn their costumes, everybody had the desency to wear their civies, seeing as how it was a public burial. Certain people – Bruce, Dick, and a few others – had worn sunglasses to protect their identity from the public. It was the first time Wally had seen some people in civilian clothes, the Hawk's, but then there were some people Wally didn't see at all.

Through the service he looked at M'gann, expecting Apollo to be sitting next to her, but didn't see him there, so he tried to look for him with Oliver and Dinah but didn't see him there either. He must've just missed him in the crowd. Wally did notice something strange about Oliver; there was a girl with him, anywhere from fifteen to seventeen.

She was, admitedly, gorgeous; mile long silky blonde hair, georgeous bronzed skin and long legs. Wally distracted himself from the sadness around him by observing her. She looked slightly uncomfortable in the dress she wore, constantly tugging it down. It wasn't very short at all, it reached about mid-thigh and showed no chest. Her legs were accented with some kind of heels and she looked so good.

One time Wally could have sworn he caught the girl looking at him once, but if she was looking she covered it up nicely. Her eyes though, they were so sad. Her eyes were narrow, combined with her skin it wasn't hard to guess she had some kind of Asian or Korean heritage. She looked so sad, almost like she didn't even notice what was going on around her. She just stared at the casket, but she didn't really look at it. Ollie clasped her hand at one point and it was only a few minutes before she yanked it away.

There were a couple heroes he hadn't seen in a while there, Wildcat, Starman (Jack Knight), and Alan Scott (a retired Green Lantern, yet still a League council member). Jay Garrick, a retired speedster, was also there. Instead of sitting with the other three council members, Jay sat with his wife, along with Wally, Barry, and Iris. Jay was essentially part of Wally's extended family, so he sees him all of the time, not so much the other three.

Wildcat, Starman, Scott, and Garrick are the leaders of the Justice League. In a show of respect, the lower Council (Superman, Batman, Flash Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, etc.) voted and, it was agreed to put the remaining Justice Society members on the high council. From what Barry tells him, Wally gathers that the High Council makes all of the rules, overrules all of the joining members, one can't get in the league without concent form a council member.

That's also the reason Dinah isn't in the league. Dinah is Black Canary, one of the best fighters Wally has trained with. Wonder Woman is also unable to join the league, much to her dismay. Sometimes, when Wally stays at the manor with Dick, Diana is there visiting and she is very open when he asks her about things like the league.

Wally Is pulled from his thoughts when he hears someone clear their throat behind him. Apollo is standing behind and next to him, smug look on his face. "You know, you never did say what happened to you when you put the helmet on."

He looked at him. The boy was dressed in a suit, black tie, very sleek looking. His hair was gelled back, and he looked too clean cut to be the Apollo Wally knew. "Energy from the thing rewrote my brian's beta waves, I was bio scripted into becoming Doctor Fate for a few minutes, no big." Wally shrugged.

Actually, he had thought all night in the infirmary about what happened. It took forever to make some sense of what had transpired, and after hours of staring at the ceiling, it was the best explaination he could conjure. The blasts that fate absorbed from Klarion took a toll on Wally's side and back, leaving giant pink marks along his skin. When Klarion broke Fate's shield, fragments shot up his arm, cutting the skin there. They kept him on painkillers throught he night so his body could work past the injuries, but there was a wrap around his wrist still.

Apollo rolled his eyes and started to walk away but Wally shot out, grabbing him by the forearm. They met eyes for a moment, gray on green, then something snapped and Wally drew his hand back.

"Um, I didn't see you at the burial." Wally asked the boy, throwing his hands in the pockets of his slacks. Apollo's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, and then he relaxed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I, uh, I was there, you must've just missed me." Apollo looked at his feel, then back to Wally.

"oh…okay." He said and turned back to the helmet. He was frustrated at the boy; he had looked for him the entire time and didn't see him. Either Wally was horrible at searching a crowd or he wasn't here, and Wally was pretty sure the latter was the more likely answer.

"Since you were there," Wally started and watched out of the corner of his eye as Apollo stopped at the doorframe. "Who was the hot blonde sitting with Dinah and Ollie?"

Wally feels Apollo's glare digging into the back of his head.

"The 'hot blonde'...is my sister." Wally's eyes widen and he turnes to look into Apollo's narrowed eyes. "Don't even think about it West." Apollo turned to look away and then stopped, stepping back into the room.

"Also…what you said…Are you still claiming there's no such thing as magic?"

Wally nodded.

"If that's how you feel, why keep it at all?" Apollo sounded a little insulted by Wally's decision.

He shrugged. "souvenir."

"Geek."

Wally smirked and watched as he walked away from the room, then turned back the helmet.

"_Find your own little spitfire, one that won't let you get away with nothin'. Something tells me you already…"_

Wally had been recalling the words in his head constantly. It didn't make sense, the only people Nelson had met were Apollo and Wally. Did he mean that Apollo was his spitfire? He couldn't though, because Inza was his love and spitfire, and if that's what Nelson means…Wally didn't know about Apollo but he wasn't interested in…

But then again Nelson was Fate for the longest time and maybe…no.

Couldn't be.

…could it?

_Tap. Tap_

Wally looked towards the doorway and saw M'gann walk by, the heels of her shoes clicking against the floor with each step.

"Hello Megan!"


End file.
